Coal-to-gas industry hopes to take advantage of the imbalance in natural gas supply and demand

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Coal-to-gas projects hope to take advantage of the imbalance in natural gas supply and demand. Author/Source: Date: 2016-08-24 Clicks: 11 At present, natural gas accounts for only 5.8% of China’s total energy consumption, and the annual production capacity of coal-to-natural gas plants that are currently in operation is only 3.105 billion cubic meters, which is far short of China’s annual demand of 200 billion cubic meters. **Zhang Yuqing, deputy director of the Energy Bureau, said recently that China will continue to increase the share of natural gas consumption and expand its use, aiming for natural gas to account for around 10% of total primary energy consumption by 2020 and around 15% by 2030. Journalists interviewed industry experts last week and learned that the huge disparity between supply and demand will bring a boom to coal-to-natural gas production, which is still in its growth phase. 　 Demand drives development. Data shows that in the first half of 2016, China’s natural gas production was 67.5 billion cubic meters, representing a 2.9% increase on a year-on-year basis ； Natural gas imports amounted to 35.6 billion cubic meters, an increase of 21.2% ； Natural gas consumption was 99.5 billion cubic meters, an increase of 9.8%. The gap between China’s natural gas production and demand is continuing to widen. “The greater the contrast, the more opportunities we will have. ”On August 18, Li Guangmin, chairman of Shanxi Yangmei Chemical Machinery (Group) Co., Ltd., said in an interview with a reporter from China Chemical Industry News. “We are advancing into the field of new energy, particularly in the manufacturing of coal-to-natural gas equipment, to create a new landscape in this sector of equipment manufacturing. ”As one of the largest chemical machinery manufacturers in the country in terms of investment and scale, Yangmei Chemical Machinery’s shift toward the downstream market of coal-to-natural gas is of significant significance in the industry. Li Guangmin said that in line with Shanxi Province’s strategy of \"Gasifying Shanxi\" and the approvals given by the Development and Reform Commission for Guoxin New Energy Group’s plan for the development of the gas industry, the company will take advantage of its strategic partnership with Guoxin New Energy. It will focus on the opportunities outlined in the plan for laying gas pipelines and constructing CNG and LNG refueling stations within three years, and will undertake tasks such as the manufacturing of related equipment, as well as pipeline installation, anti-corrosion treatment, and insulation work. This includes long-distance gas transmission pipelines, large-scale and single-volume LNG tanks, LNG refueling stations and equipment for liquefaction plants, as well as LNG refueling stations and equipment for liquefaction plants. Jin Yong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tsinghua University, pointed out that natural gas is an important clean, conventional primary energy source. To address the issue of carbon emissions, China must explore strategies for developing natural gas as an energy source and pursue the rational development of coal-to-gas conversion. He said that the efficiency of coal-to-natural gas production is 52% to 56%, and the water consumption in this process is relatively low compared to other coal chemical processes, accounting for only one-third of that used in the production of products such as methanol. Compared with domestic and imported natural gas, coal-to-gas has a significant cost advantage and favorable conditions for development; many eco-cities have now planned to use natural gas. As of June this year, the annual natural gas supply for the entire city of Shanghai has exceeded 7 billion cubic meters. Furthermore, using coal gas instead of coal directly eliminates the generation of suspended particulate matter, which holds significant practical value in addressing environmental pollution issues such as fog. “In 2015, the coverage rate of gasification in Shanxi reached 52%, with 5.5 million residents in 104 counties (cities, districts) across the province having access to gas. ”Liang Xiehu, chairman of Shanxi Guoxin New Energy Development Group Co., Ltd., told a reporter from China Chemical Industry News that in order to achieve the goal of \"gasifying Shanxi,\" the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and provincial government granted the company exclusive rights to utilize 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas, as well as primary rights to manage 20 billion cubic meters of mixed gas resources. “Our country should seize the current opportunities presented by the strategic adjustment period of traditional coal chemical industry and the demonstration and promotion phase of modern coal chemical industry, to vigorously develop the coal-to-gas industry. Based on mature coal-to-natural gas production technologies, and taking into account the design of modern coal-to-natural gas plants, efforts are made to establish such projects that are clean, information-driven, intelligent, centralized, and large-scale, thereby ensuring people’s well-being while achieving a win-win situation in terms of economy, resources, and the environment. ”Li Dashang, director of the National Coal Chemical Engineering Design Technology Center, said in an interview with a reporter from China Chemical Industry News on August 17 that, considering the current level of technological maturity, as well as technical and economic aspects and the feasibility of energy conservation and emission reduction, coal-to-natural gas is an excellent low-carbon energy source with significant economic and technical advantages. Pilot projects first: Against this social and industry backdrop, many companies have begun to develop coal-to-natural gas technology. “Our company’s coal-to-natural gas project is currently operating very smoothly, with the ability to liquefy 1 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, resulting in the production of around 700 tons of LNG. ”On August 19, Gong Chunhuai, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of Jinmei Tianqing Coal Chemical Co., Ltd., told reporters. At the beginning of this month, the Planning Bureau of Yanji City in Jilin Province placed the advancement of the coal, chemical, power, and heating integration demonstration project in Xingan League, Inner Mongolia, on its priority agenda. The project is funded and constructed by a joint venture between Inner Mongolia Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. and Jilin Province Energy (Group) Co., Ltd. It has been included in the \"Jilin Province Natural Gas Utilization Plan\" and serves as one of the main gas sources for the \"Gasification of Jilin\" initiative aimed at benefiting the local population. The project is implemented by Inner Mongolia Mining (Group) Xingan Energy and Chemical Co., Ltd., with a total planned investment of 30.2 billion yuan. The construction scale is designed for an annual production of 4 billion cubic meters of coal-to-natural gas, and the main products include coal-to-natural gas, clean coal, lignite, as well as by-products such as naphtha. Not only that, but since the beginning of this year, the demonstration project for the clean utilization of low-metamorphic bituminous coal in Datong, Shanxi, operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation, the 4 billion cubic meters per year coal-to-natural gas project developed by Inner Mongolia Beikong Jingtai Energy Development Co., Ltd., and the 4 billion cubic meters per year coal-to-natural gas project carried out by Su New Energy and Feng Co., Ltd. have all received environmental impact assessment approvals, thereby boosting confidence in the development of the coal-to-gas industry. “With the approval for environmental impact assessment, the project can advance at a faster pace, which is beneficial for both Shanxi Province and the enterprises involved. ”Zhang Hailong, deputy director of the Industrial Department at the Shanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission, told a reporter from China Chemical Industry News that the CNOOC-Tongmei coal-to-gas project was officially launched in 2009. It is a coal-based clean energy project carried out through cooperation between CNOOC’s headquarters, the city of Datong in Shanxi Province, and the Datong Coal Mining Group. The project includes two coal mines with an annual production capacity of 10 million tons each, as well as a coal-to-natural gas facility with an annual production capacity of 4 billion cubic meters. As agreed, the two coal mines are controlled by Tongmei Group, with CNOOC holding a stake in them ； The coal-to-gas project is controlled by CNOOC ； Participated by Tongmei Group. “To date, in China, the pilot phases of 3 projects for coal-to-natural gas production have been put into operation, with a combined annual production capacity of 3.105 billion cubic meters ； 2 projects under construction, with an annual production capacity of 6 billion cubic meters ； 8 preliminary projects were carried out, with an annual total volume of 72.2 billion cubic meters. ”Han Hongmei, deputy director of the Energy and Chemicals Division at the Petroleum and Chemical Industry Planning Institute, said that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the industry should be located in optimized and key development areas, with priority given to regions that have relatively abundant water resources and good environmental capacity, and such locations should also be in line with environmental protection plans. Areas that no longer have environmental capacity must first take measures to free up such capacity. New modern coal chemical projects are strictly controlled in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and water-scarce areas. Improving technical management: Regarding how enterprises should develop coal-to-natural gas production, Jin Yong pointed out that the focus should be on local production of key catalysts and other consumables in order to reduce the operating costs of such projects. In addition, the catalytic gasification of coal to natural gas currently includes two-step processes, catalytic gasification, hydrogenation gasification, etc. The methanation reaction in the two-step process operates at high temperatures, above 600°C, and releases a large amount of heat. Currently, multi-stage fixed-bed reactors are commonly used, with heat exchange between stages; to control the reaction temperature, a large amount of gas is circulated for heat transfer, which results in high energy consumption. Our country is currently developing a non-cyclic reaction system that involves the initial addition of a H2-rich stream, with a carbon monoxide-rich stream being added gradually between reaction stages in order to control the amount of reaction occurring at each stage and to regulate the reaction temperature. This is also one of the technical development directions for the industry. Shi Fufu, deputy chief engineer and professor-level senior engineer at China Chemical Siding Engineering Co., Ltd., suggested that the key issues to focus on in the design and construction of modern coal-to-natural gas plants include the following seven aspects: First, it is necessary to establish a reliable supply chain for coal resources to ensure the safety of raw materials used in plant operations ； Second, it is essential to rely on mature and reliable technologies to ensure the stable operation of the factory ； Third, adhere to the use of multiple device series to reduce the risk of production shutdowns ； Fourth, equipment implementation should be localized to enable rapid maintenance ； Fifth, implement gas storage for peak shaving to flexibly respond to market demands ； Sixth, adhere to \"keeping pace with the times\" and pursue advancement by abiding by rules and laws ； Seventh, adhere to factory scaling and base development to promote a circular economy. Li Dashang said that compared with other coal-based energy and chemical products, coal-to-natural gas has advantages such as a simpler production process, mature and reliable technology, lower consumption, reduced investment costs, and lower cost per unit of heat value. The superheated steam generated as a by-product of the waste heat from synthetic natural gas can be used in the turbine cycle and air separation compressors of this facility, thereby generating economic benefits. Moreover, coal-to-natural gas is a clean domestic gas and industrial fuel that can be produced together with other syngas-based chemical products, enhancing a factory’s adaptability to the market and improving the overall efficiency of coal processing. Furthermore, the market for coal-to-natural gas products is huge; it is possible to carry out conversion at the coal mines located in remote mountainous areas or coal-rich border regions, and then transport the product via pipelines, thereby reducing transportation costs and easing traffic congestion.